The Inca Trail, Peru

Location: Inca Trail, Peru
Population: not very many
Highlights: spectauclar scenery; conquering Dead Woman's Pass

The epic Inca Trail is a 4 day hike from ollyantambo (an hour's drive from Cusco) to the ruins of Macchu Picchu. Done at high altitude (ranging from 3200m to 4215m above sea level) the trail takes you through some breathtaking scenery while challenging the body and mind as the high altitude takes its toll.

Our group consisted of 2 Swedish girls - Kat and Karen - Cathy and myself and our 8 porters, 1 chef and guide - Alex. The porters are truely amazing people. Armed with 27kgs of baggage each, they carreer up and down the mountain at break neck sped to ensure that when we arrive at the next camp our tents are set up and a meal is prepared. And once we depart the they dismantle all the tents, pack up and trot past us to the next point.

Armed with our daypacks and walking sticks we set off from Ollyantambo on Day 1 for a fairly easy walk following the contours of the river through the mountains.  The occassional glimpse of a startling white snow capped mountain contrasted with the lush green and grey rock across which we walked. Lunch was had at one of the camps along the way and we were treated to a real feast! All our meals on the trip were fantastic! Of course they provided way more food than us 4 girls would ever eat, although we definitely made an effort to eat like pigs. Its amazing whatr the chef can do with such limited facilities and supplies - we had fantastic fish, meat, rice, vegetables and desserts every day, as well as other snack sto keep us going.

The 2nd half of Day 1 proved to be a bit of a killer. After lunch we had to ascend to our camp for the night which was situated half way up a big pass. The steep stone, mud and root steps followed the flow of a powerful mountain river and wound its way slowly up the pass. The altitude rally took its toll here as our bosies struggled to become acclimatised to the lackof oxygen. As the locals do we all chewed madly on wads of coca leaves which are meant to alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness. With each step our legs felt heavier and our lungs tighter, but we eventually made it to the campsite (surviving an unexpected stampede of lama down the narrow mountain path!) where we were greeted with fantastic views to the valley below. Each night, wrapped up in layers of clothing and snuggled up in a -15deg sleeping bag, we camped in the most spectacular places, and could happily lie in our tents gazing out across to the mountains opposite. Brilliant!

Day 2 was the day of Dead Woman's Pass - the notorius trek up to 4215m above sea level and supposedly the most challenging part of the trail. Cath and I decided after the previous day's efforts to adopt a 10 minute walk 2 mintue rest strategy to get us up that pass. And it worked really well. As with the previosu day with every step our muscles burned and our breath shortened and when it felt like our bodies were about to explode the 10 minutes was up and we could stop for a break to get our breathing back to normal. We managed the ascent in good time - an hour less than expected! Of course what goes up must come down and we were greeted by 3 hours worth of stone steps to take us down the other side of the pass. Not ideal for people like Cath who have knee issues...

A further, less difficult pass was climbed that afternoon and we arrived at the 2nd campsite in good spirits. Once again amazing views at this site, which we were sharing with a few other groups. Day 3 was more downhill walking (or stepping as was often the case) and we arrived at the campo in tiem for lunch and a free afternoon to laze about. All along the course of the trail we passed many Inca sites and this camp site was skituated next to a very impressive Inca site which we explored that afternoon.

The next morning we woke up at 4am in order oto get through the final check point at 5am and hope to reach the Sun gat eas the sun came up. The weather, which had been good to us for the entire trek, did not help us on this day and we awoke to mist and rain. Once we reached the Sun Gate (where we couldn't really see anything because of the mist) we set off for the final descnet to Macchu Pitchu. Our first glimpse of the famous ruins was obscured by cloud.... Oh well. At least we got there! Alex took us on a tour around these amazing ruins explaining to us the many theories behind the ruins, and traditions of the Incas. They are truely fascinating, although to be honest I think the trek to get there was more spectacular than the final destination.

Tired and smelly (no showers for 4 days) we finally boarded the train to Ollyantambo (after a few hours in the shit town of Aguas Calientes - tourist central - terrible) and headed back to Cusco where a hot shower and an abundance of vodka and tonics were waiting for us.